Chelsea's interest in Enzo Fernandez - who won the World Cup with Argentina and was awarded Young Player of the Tournament in Qatar - faces the stumbling block of Benfica's asking price; the Portuguese club will not sell him for less than his £105m release clause
Thursday 29 December 2022 15:13, UK
Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Molde striker David Datro Fofana on January 1 and are interested in Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
The Blues were the Premier League's big spenders in the summer following the takeover led by Todd Boehly, and they appear to be taking a similar approach for the winter transfer window.
Chelsea have moved quickly to sign 20-year-old striker Fofana, confirming the deal in a statement on Wednesday.
"Chelsea FC has reached a pre-agreement with Molde FK for the transfer of David Datro Fofana," the west London club said.
"The 20-year-old striker will join the Blues on 1 January 2023. We look forward to welcoming David to the club!"
Chelsea are not stopping there as they set their sights on Benfica midfielder Fernandez, who won Young Player of the Tournament in Qatar for his key role in Argentina's successful World Cup campaign.
However, the Portuguese club will not sell Fernandez for any lower than his £105m release clause. The 21-year-old, who signed for Benfica last summer, is under contract until 2027.
The Guardian's Jonathan Liew told Sky Sports News that Enzo Fernandez's World Cup performance means he is "at the peak of his value".
"If you're a top-class club, if you're a club that's aspiring to play cup finals, Champions League finals, like Chelsea are, a World Cup, especially the sharp end of it, can tell you a lot about a player's mindset," said Liew.
"Everybody knows what Enzo Fernandez can do, he's done it in the Champions League for Benfica, he'd done it for River Plate. But seeing how he does in that cauldron under the pressure of a World Cup final, that does actually tell you a lot about that player. And anybody who saw Fernandez at the World Cup would have liked what they saw.
"He's got a £106m release clause and Benfica obviously won't want to let him go in January because they have a Champions League campaign of their own to pursue. But they will probably know that he is at the peak of his value, so if Chelsea can stump up the cash then they can make the deal happen in January.
"Kante's deal is up at the end of the season, Kovacic has been playing through injury, Jorginho, as well, up at the end of the season, so it all makes sense."
